Parotosuchus

Parotosuchus is an extinct genus of capitosaurian temnospondyl amphibians within the family Mastodonsauridae. Fossils are known from the Early Triassic of Europe, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. It was about 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and likely lived in aquatic environments such as lakes and rivers. Parotosuchus was covered in a scaly skin, unlike the smooth skin of modern-day amphibians, and probably moved with an eel-like motion in the water.[2]

Life restoration of P. orenburgensis

Life restoration of P. nasutus

Parotosuchus Temporal range: Early Triassic
Skull impression of P. nasutus in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Temnospondyli
Suborder:	†Stereospondyli
Clade:	†Capitosauria
Family:	†Mastodonsauridae
Genus:	†Parotosuchus Otschev and Shishkin, 1968
Species
†P. nasutus (Meyer, 1858) †P. helgolandicus (Schröder, 1913) †P. haughtoni (Broili & Schröder, 1937) †P. orenburgensis (Konzhukova, 1965) †P. orientalis (Otschev, 1966) †P. panteleevi (Otschev, 1966) †P. ptaszynskii Sulej and Niedźwiedzki, 2013 †P. sequester Lozovsky & Shishkin, 1974 †P. speleus Mikhail A. Shishkin and Tomasz Sulej, 2009[1] †P. komiensis Novikov, 1986
Synonyms
Archotosaurus Patton, 1976

Parotosuchus was originally named Parotosaurus. However, the name Parotosaurus was preoccupied by a genus of skinks,[3] and in 1968 the name Parotosuchus was proposed as a replacement.[4] The name Archotosaurus was also proposed as a replacement name in 1976,[5] although the author who proposed this was unaware that Parotosuchus was already in use. Because the name Parotosuchus was erected earlier than Archotosaurus, it has priority.[6]